July 13, 2009

MySpace, Facebook and Divorce

Social Networking and Child Custody

When parents divorce, they often have to find new ways to communicate with each other about their children. Sometimes it’s a good idea to pass a notebook along with the children when they go for parenting time. Sometimes it’s a good idea to set up an account at ourfamilywizard to keep track of important dates on a shared schedule.

MySpace and Facebook

One thing that is NOT a good idea, however, is to use online social networking services, such as Facebook or MySpace as a soap box to talk about your former spouse in a negative way.

Social networking sites allow you to share content with family, friends, colleagues, strangers, anyone with access to the internet. There is great potential to help you keep in touch with people, but it also has great potential to help you alienate people and look like the worst possible parent.

I urge you to resist the temptation to find out where your former spouse is posting online, and even more, I urge you to resist the temptation to respond to anything he or she posts. Do not start a passive aggressive flame war by posting on YOUR site in reaction to something posted on his or her site. There is no good that can come of this.

Take the High Road during your Divorce or Child Custody Case

If you need to vent, do so over the telephone or a cup of coffee to a friend or trusted family member. Do not post it publicly and permanently on a website where people will see and judge you for it. People do not know your whole history, and posting a one-word essay on the unfitness of your former spouse is not likely to make anyone agree with you – they are more likely to turn against you.

Social networking gives you the opportunity to practice taking the high road, and to make choices that are concerned with the best interest of your children. That includes refraining from fighting or vilifying the other parent in a way that will only vilify yourself.

May 30, 2009

Financing Life during a Divorce

Divorce and Earning Some Extra Cash

One of my goals as a divorce attorney is to assist my clients obtain sufficient support to maintain their assets and meet their reasonable monthly needs during a divorce. However, as families separate from one household into two, there might not be quite enough money to finance both households and the costs of a divorce. In these cases, my clients often look for ways to make a little extra money each month. If you find yourself in that category, and you consider yourself “crafty”, take a gander at www.etsy.com. It’s a place to sell your arts and crafts (or buy them from other people). I am not “crafty” but found the site inspirational.

May 19, 2009

Why a Depressed Market is not ALWAYS Bad in a Divorce

Divorce provides an economic opportunity for some individuals to start fresh with a pile of cash. Maybe the pile is not quite as high as it could have been, but your buying power might be greater, too. For example, the foreclosure crisis has created an unprecendented opportunity to obtain value for investment. Bargain hunting is also possible in the stock market. It is entirely possible that you can buy more long term investment vehicles with a smaller divorce settlement than you could have in the inflated market two or three years ago.

Your divorce attorney is almost certainly not a financial advisor. When your divorce atterney begins to discuss posssible outcomes for your case, it is time to consult with your financial advisor. You may want to ask your financial advisor to meet with you and your divorce attorney to help you develop a plan of action.